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Kukës
|subdivision_type1 = County |subdivision_name1 = Kukës County |subdivision_type2 = District |subdivision_name2 = Kukës District |subdivision_type3 = |subdivision_name3 = |subdivision_type4 = |subdivision_name4 = |government_footnotes = |government_type = |leader_title = |leader_name = |leader_title1 = |leader_name1 = |leader_title2 = |leader_name2 = |leader_title3 = |leader_name3 = |leader_title4 = |leader_name4 = |established_title = |established_date = |established_title2 = |established_date2 = |established_title3 = |established_date3 = |area_magnitude = |unit_pref = |area_footnotes = |area_total_km2 = |area_land_km2 = |area_water_km2 = |area_total_sq_mi = |area_land_sq_mi = |area_water_sq_mi = |area_water_percent = |area_urban_km2 = |area_urban_sq_mi = |area_metro_km2 = |area_metro_sq_mi = |population_as_of = 2003 |population_footnotes = |nickname = |population_total = 16000 |population_density_km2 = |population_density_sq_mi = |population_metro = |population_density_metro_km2 = |population_density_metro_sq_mi = |population_urban = |population_density_urban_km2 = |population_density_urban_sq_mi = |population_blank1_title = |population_blank1 = |population_density_blank1_km2 = |population_density_blank1_sq_mi = |timezone = Central European Time |utc_offset = +1 |timezone_DST = CEST |utc_offset_DST = +2 |latd=42 |latm=04 |lats=|latNS=N |longd=20|longm=25|longs=|longEW=E |elevation_footnotes = |elevation_m = 320 |elevation_ft = |postal_code_type =Postal code |postal_code =8501-8503 |area_code =024 |blank_name =Car Plates |blank_info =KU |blank1_name = |blank1_info = |website =www.bashkiakukes.com |footnotes = }} Kukës ( or ) is a town in Albania located at 42.09°N, 20.43°E in the district and county with the same name. It has a population of about 16,000 (2003 est). The town is set among the mountains of northern Albania. It is famous for its role during the Kosovo conflict of the late 1990s, when it accepted more than 500,000 refugees. This led, in 2000, to it becoming the first ever town to be nominated for the Nobel Peace prize. History The town was relocated as part of a hydroelectric scheme. The old Kukës was submerged beneath an artificial lake in 1976, the lake being held back by crumbling Chinese-built dams. The new town (Kukësi i Ri - "New Kukës") was built in the 1970s in the plateau nearby which is 320m over the sea level. Kukësi i Ri is surrounded by the artificial lake of Fierza and it looks like a peninsula from the above. It is linked with the other parts of the country by three bridges. On the East it faces the snow covered mountain of Gjallica, 2468m over the sea level. The district is improverished, with poor road connections, and major problems with crime.(now roads are well improved and there is a low crime community.) Illyrian tombs were found at Këneta nearby Kukës. It was a small Roman settlement, a stopping point on a branch road leading to the Via Egnatia, and a minor Ottoman market centre and trading post on the road to southern Kosovo. Just before the First World War it was there (Qafa e Kolosjanit) where Albanian resistance stopped Serbian invasion in 1912. Kukës was briefly on the world stage during the Kosovo conflict when many hundreds of thousands (500.000) of Kosovan refugees crossed the frontier and were housed in camps in and around Kukës. Kukës is the only town to get nominated for a Nobel prize. There is a mosque and a closed alpine-style hotel, part of a failed attempt to establish a tourist industry there. OSCE maintained a villa there. A popular spot is a place just off the main square called the Bar America where the speciality is Tavë Dheu. There is also a local historical museum and a carpet factory. The food industry is confined only to production of alcoholic drinks produced in a drink factory, and to some local small workshops producing drinks and dairy products. The Highlanders in the region are well known for their developed agriculture. Kukës has a carpet factory whose products is for domestic and trade use. There is also a copper processing factory as the raw material, copper, is found in this place. Kukës is a good centre for fishing and walking in the surrounding mountains. In the bad weather Kukës can be dramatic, with huge threating cloud formations over the Vikut Mountains, and the sparse streets of the little town and the lake, subject to violent gusts of 'Bora' wind. See also * List of cities in Albania External links *Kukës Municipality *Kukës County *Kukës Culture,Info *Region of Kukës *Gymnasium "Havzi Nela" Kukës *Kukës - The museum *BBC News - report on 2000 Nobel Peace Prize winner (South Korean President Kim Dae-jung) and Kukës having been nominated *Kukes Airport *Kukës map from the air Category:Cities, towns and villages in Albania bg:Кукъс cs:Kukës da:Kukës de:Kukës fa:کوکس fr:Kukës it:Kukës hu:Kukës no:Kukes pl:Kukës pt:Kukës ro:Kukës ru:Кукес sq:Kukësi sk:Kukës (mesto) sr:Кукес sv:Kukës zh:库克斯